New Report on Global In-App Spending Habits Finds That Asian Consumers Spend 40% More In Apps Than the Rest of the World

AppsFlyer, the leading global mobile marketing attribution analytics company, announced today the results of its State of In-App Spending report, with details from in-app purchase (IAP) behaviors of more than 100 million mobile app users across over 1,000 apps. The report reveals that Asian users spend 40% more on in-app purchases than the rest of the world, although North Americans spend the single highest amount — in shopping apps. In addition, the report shows that iOS users spend nearly 2.5 times as much as Android users — $1.08 to $0.43 in monthly IAP per user, per app. Not only do they spend more, but iOS users are about 50% more likely to spend any money in apps than Android users.

Further, the study finds that only 5.2% of users spend money on in-app purchases, but that the average paying user spends $9.60 in monthly transactions per app with purchase activity — more than 20 times the average spend of all users combined.

The report provides a regional breakdown as well, and includes a breakdown for games, shopping and utility apps. Some of the specific findings include:

The average user spends $0.50 per month on IAP per app with purchase activity (the average paying user spends $9.60 per month)

The average purchase amount is $12.77 on iOS, $6.19 on Android and $8.80 overall

7.1% of iOS users make at least one payment per month; 4.6% of Android users do

Asian users spend a monthly average of $0.70 per user per app; Latin Americans spend the least, at $0.16

North American shoppers spend 2.5 times more than the average European app shopper, and 3 times more than Asian shoppers

The average monthly in-app spend for gaming apps is $0.32; for shopping apps it is $2.68

“As app developers lay out their development, marketing and engagement strategies, it is critical for them to understand the differences in in-app spending behaviors across different platforms, geographic regions and app categories,” said Ran Avrahamy, AppsFlyer’s VP of Marketing. “Our data shows that in-app spending continues to present a significant opportunity for app publishers and marketers. While only a small portion of app users actually spend money on in-app purchases, app developers and marketers can capitalize by ensuring they always offer an optimal in-app experience, and by constantly measuring and optimizing their activities in order to build a strong base of loyal, valuable users.”

The report examined data from April and May 2016, studying nearly 30 million purchase events conducted by over 100 million users across over 1,000 apps that have in-app purchase activity. The total spend analyzed in this report was $300 million worth of in-app transactions.